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UMF class attends timber harvest operation at Nordica Homestead

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Forester Matt Jacobs of Rangeley, points out the straight trunk of a high value maple as University of Maine at Farmington forest ecology students look on at the timber harvesting operation going on this winter at the Nordica Homestead.
Logger Marty Ryan of Phillips discusses the harvesting operation’s equipment.

FARMINGTON – Instead of sitting in a warm classroom discussing forestry management, University of Maine at Farmington students were in a real forest on a recent bitter cold morning talking with timber harvest professionals.

On the job at Nordica Homestead’s 97 acres are foresters Bill Haslam and Matt Jacobs and logger Marty Ryan, who are working to selectively harvest and bring in revenue to help support the museum.

Haslam of American Forest Management in Farmington, has been working since last spring with the Nordica Memorial Association board of directors to come up with a management plan for harvesting trees on the property. The board, with an overall aim of preserving the memory of opera super star Lillian Nordica (1857-1914), is tasked with maintaining the Nordica Homestead Museum located off Holley Road on 109 acres.

UMF Professor Drew Barton brought his Forest Ecology and Conservation class to the site after hearing about the project to harvest logs and sell them to raise funding to support the nonprofit Nordica Homestead.

“It all goes back to the museum,” Jane Parker, the association’s board president, said of the operation. “There’s a need for maintaining the museum.” Funding to keep the museum open to the public is an ongoing concern of its board.

“We’re here to see a harvest happen and foresters accomplishing their goals,” Barton said.

The last timber harvest at the homestead was a decade ago and was not very extensive, Haslam said. He explained a cross-section of tree trunks revealed rings with little or no spacing between each, which indicates little growth due to overcrowding.

A detail of the forest management plan included the decision to not have a chipper operating in the neighborhood that is dotted with homes.

“It would have been like an assault on these residents,” Haslam told the students if a chipper were to be used here. After the management plan was drafted and approved by everyone involved, harvester Marty Ryan went to work on Dec. 12, 2016.

The best time to do wood harvesting work is winter, Jacobs noted, “winter opens the door to access.” Harvesting at the property will end before spring’s mud season and pick up again next winter.

Once harvested, the hardwood logs of mostly maple and ash will go to different mills across the state, depending on their grade. Haslam noted the wood market is unpredictable but hopes to bring in an estimated $10,000 or so from the operation to support the museum.

University of Maine at Farmington Professor Drew Barton’s Forest Ecology and Conservation class listens as Marty Ryan explains the timber harvest operation at the Nordica Homestead.
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